The ashes of Matthew Shepard, whose brutal murder in the 1990s became a rallying cry for the gay rights movement, were laid to rest Friday in the Washington National Cathedral. (Oct. 26)
AP

Judy and Dennis Shepard attend the interment ceremony for their son, Matthew Shepard, at the Washington National Cathedral on Oct. 25, 2018, in Washington, DC. Two decades ago, the brutal killing of Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old gay college student, sent shockwaves across the United States, raising awareness about violence against homosexuals and prompting calls for tougher federal hate crime laws.(Photo: ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS, AFP/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON – Matthew Shepard's family placed his ashes in the crypt of Washington National Cathedral on Friday, interring him in the nation's capital as an enduring symbol of the gay rights movement.

It was thousands of miles from Laramie, Wyoming, where in 1998 two men beat and robbed the 21-year-old college student and left him tied him to a fence because he was gay.

Shepard's death days later became a rallying cry for the LGBT community and eventually inspired the federal anti-hate crime law that bears his name.

Twenty years later, his name and story still carry the pain of discrimination, but also the hope to make change – two ideas that filled the cathedral Friday morning.

Hundreds took part in the Episcopal service before the private interment ceremony. Shepard's parents, Judy and Dennis, attended the public service with hundreds of supporters, many of whom formed a line outside the cathedral hours before in 40-degree temperatures.

Bishop Gene Robinson speaks during a memorial service for Matthew Shepard at the National Cathedral on Oct. 26, 2018, in Washington, DC. Shepard, a gay man, was murdered 20 years ago and was interred at the Cathedral.(Photo: Aaron P. Bernstein, Getty Images)

The ceremony included songs and Bible verses about overcoming suffering and living a purposeful life. The Gay Men's Chorus of Washington, D.C., performed; the Right Rev. V. Gene Robinson, the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal church, delivered the homily.

It was at once both redemptive and appropriate: a gay man honored in a religious context, but in a building deemed "the spiritual home of a nation," where President Woodrow Wilson and Helen Keller also are interred.

"Many of you have been hurt by your own religious communities," Robinson said. "I want to welcome you back."

The Shepards selected the cathedral to be Matthew's final resting place, they said, because he loved the Episcopal church.

"It’s so important that we now have a home for Matthew," Dennis Shepard said to begin the 90-minute ceremony. "A home that others can visit, a home that is safe from haters, a home that he loved dearly."

Dennis and Judy Shepard, Bishop LaTrelle Easterling, Rev. Mariann Budde, Rev. V. Gene Robinson and the ashes of Matthew Shepard are carried at the conclusion of a "Thanksgiving and Remembrance of Matthew Shepard" service at Washington National Cathedral in Washington, on Friday, Oct. 26, 2018. The ashes of Matthew Shepard, whose brutal murder in the 1990s became a rallying cry for the gay rights movement, was laid to rest in Washington National Cathedral.(Photo: Carolyn Kaster, AP)

Robinson fought through tears to deliver his homily. He praised the decades-long activism of Judy and Dennis Shepard, who started the Matthew Shepard Foundation.

“They could have so easily gone home and grieved privately," Robinson said. But "they decided that they were going to turn this horrendous event into something good.”

Speaking just a few miles from the White House, Robinson took a swipe at the Trump administration.

The White House is reportedly considering defining gender based on the sex listed on a person's birth certificate. Such a move could have the effect of ending anti-discrimination protections for transgender people.

“Violence takes lots of forms, and right now the transgender community is the target," Robinson said. "There are forces about who would erase them from America, deny them the right they have to define themselves, and they need us to stand with them."

He told the congregation to "go vote," which drew applause.

A woman reacts as she attends the remembrance ceremony for Matthew Shepard at the Washington National Cathedral on Oct. 26, 2018, in Washington, DC. Two decades ago the brutal killing of Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old gay college student, sent shockwaves across the United States, raising awareness about violence against homosexuals and prompting calls for tougher federal hate crime laws.(Photo: ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS, AFP/Getty Images)

Washington-area resident Tom Ciak said he attended the service because he felt it was important to pay his respects.

Ciak remembers Shepard's death. He said the graphic details have stuck with him.

"It hit me hard, and a lot of my friends, it hit them hard,” he said. "It's still indelible in your mind after all this time."

Debra Benham attended the service with her daughter, Ava.

"I felt very touched," the Fairfax, Virginia, woman said. "I had forgotten a lot about what happened to him, so over the last couple days I was refreshing my memory on what had happened.

"As a mom, you don’t want anything like that to happen to your child."

An activist who identified herself as Sister Tearyn Upinjustice, a co-founder of the D.C. chapter of the pro-LGBT group Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, said she attended the service to support the Shepard family and a member who went to school with Shepard.

“It brought all the memories back because I remember exactly when it happened," she said. "It just made me think again about how that poor young man suffered, how he was left there to die. And how cruel the world was at one point."

Shepard's ashes, enclosed in an urn, were placed in the columbarium, part of the crypt in the lower level of the cathedral. It's covered with a tablet that states his name and the dates he was born and died.

The area is closed off to the public, but the church plans to place a plaque in the chapel for visitors.

Robinson closed his homily with his vision of Shepard in heaven – "sitting in God’s great big lap, surrounded by God’s great big loving arms."

His voice cracked as he addressed Shepard directly.

“Gently rest in this place. You are safe now," he said. "Oh yeah, and Matt – welcome home.”